China Blue II ©

Travis Williams, also known as Trav to his friends, sat back in the seat of the Boeing 777 and awaited it's take off. He looked out the window and he could see SuMing standing there behind the waiting area windows waving. He pressed a little closer to the window and waved, knowing the probability of her seeing him was zero. But still he waved at her. As he waited for the plane to take off, he closed his eyes and thought about the last few weeks. When he was first told he would be going to China to check the integrity of the security there, he had winced. He did not look forward to going there at all. He was not used to being a stranger in some foreign country, uneducated to their language and culture. "Wouldn't it be more plausible to send someone familiar to the site?" he had tried to reason with his supervisor Ted Michaels. "You would think so and at any other time, I would agree with you and send someone else. But, they are wanting someone fresh, new eyes on the situation so to say." he returned. "Situation", that word always meant there was reason to check something out. Apparently someone had noted that there was something going on that required a hands on evaluation. But why me Travis thought. He could not speak the language. He would be a "duck out of water" there. He shook his head and looked at Ted. "What is it I am looking for?' he asked. "It will be in the brief and you can read it en-route to Tianjin on the plane." Ted answered. Continuing, "We will forward all the necessary memos to those concerned and tell them not to mention your arrival there. Do not use the email to send any information or any phone on site to contact us. Use your cell phone and do it away from the facilities when you do." Ted further instructed him, "Do not talk to anyone while you are there concerning what you are doing. Or give the remotest hint what it is you are looking for. We are telling them it is nothing more than an annual evaluation and nothing more. I do not want anyone set on there guard there. Everything must be SOP." "Hell Ted, I don't even know what it is that I am looking for, so how can I breach that?" Travis responded. "And if I do find something, what is it that I am supposed to do with it? Or who will I let know that I even found something?" he asked. "You will let me know Travis, no one else. Not even another here, you report straight back to me." he replied in answer. "Travis, I cannot tell you how important this is right now, but something is going on and the higher ups want to know what it is and why, and most important, who." Ted continued. "They said send your best man and one not familiar to them there, we want someone that can get around without too much notice." Travis started laughing now. "That's good Ted, someone who can get around without much notice. Let's see. I am 6' 3" tall, weigh in at 225, brown hair and eyes, yes I can see how I will blend in very easily Ted." he said, still laughing. Ted scowled, "Travis, this is serious, not something to laugh about. Just do as you’re asked and let's get this over with, with as little trouble as possible." "Let's? You are the one staying here Ted, remember? I am the one who is going to be leaving and damn it, I just got back from assignment to Australia." he snapped. "I just moved into a new place, haven't even had a chance to unpack and you are sending me right back out." "No use in arguing about it now, it is a done deal and you are going. Like it or not Travis, you are the best I have and I need you to do this." Ted said, as if pleading with Travis now. "I understand you just got back and you have a new place you want to get settled in. There will be plenty of time for that when you return Travis, I promise you that." Ted turned his back to Travis and was looking out the window in his office, "Just find out what is going on over there and get back home." Travis turned and walked out of Ted's office back to his.

Closing his office door, Travis opened the packet Ted had handed him. There was an airline ticket to Tianjin, China, a rental car voucher, hotel reservation and a perdium check for expenses, nothing about why he was going there or what he was looking for when he got there. He sat at his desk and spread everything out in front of him that is when he noticed his departure date and time. "Crap!" he thought to himself, "I leave in four hours." Picking up the phone, he called Sarah, a girl he had been dating for a few weeks before he had left for Australia. She would be at work right about now, so he called her there. "Langwith & Stiles, this is Sarah, how may I help you?' was the greeting he got. "Sarah, this Travis, I need to talk to you about our date tonight." "Oh?”, Was what she started with, "And what is it you need to talk about?' she asked. "I won't be able to make it tonight, I am leaving out on an assignment in four hours." he told her. "But you just got back and we were supposed to go out tonight. Where is it they are sending you and how long will you be gone? "she inquired. "Sarah, I can't say where and as to why or how long, I do not know, they are keeping this one close to their vests for some reason. I tried to get out of it, I really did, but Ted would not listen and insisted that I go." he explained to her. "If you like, we can meet at the airport and have a drink before my plane takes off." he offered. "No Trav, I don't think so. I am not going to put my life on hold and find myself waiting for you to come home, just to have you leave again. I just got out of a situation like that with my ex-husband. I want someone that is going to be there and not off running around all over hell and creation, all for the good of someone else." she said coldly. "No, you go on your assignment and do whatever it is you have to do." "How about when I get back then?' he asked her. "We can go out then; I promise I will make this up to you." "Don't make any promises Trav, I have heard enough of them before and they all went unfulfilled." she quipped. "I have a life to live and I am going to start living it." No goodbyes were said, the next thing Travis heard was the dial tone. "Damn!" he thought to himself and headed for the door.

Arriving at his condo, Travis grabbed his suitcase he had not even had a chance to unpack yet. Going to his bedroom, he grabbed a few clean shirts, threw his dirty ones on the bed and looked for his brown suit. Stuffing it into his garment bag, he zipped it up and headed out the door to the airport. All the way to the airport Travis thought about how mad he was that they were sending him. Spending three months in Australia setting up the Loss Prevention branch there and having the security system updated and audited, he had thought for sure that he would have had a little time to himself. But Ted had seen that he wasn't going to able to do that. He laughed when he thought of Sarah's comment of unfulfilled promises. "Wake up!" he thought to himself. "Life is nothing more than a string of unfulfilled promises. Look up and stop smelling the flowers." He thought about all the so called unfulfilled promises that had been made to him and thought how he had many more to come in his future. It was just something he was going to have to accept and live with. Sarah needs to understand the same thing and get a good grasp on it. If she didn't, she was going to have a life full of disappointment. We were only guaranteed today, with no promise of a tomorrow. And if anyone was idiot enough to think that, they would be standing in line for a very long time.

Reaching the terminal, Travis went ahead and checked his baggage, looking at his watch; he saw that he still had almost three hours until his flight left. He headed straight for the bar. He was on his second bourbon when he heard the boarding call for his flight. "This is going to be a long one." he thought to himself as he wearily rose from his stool and headed down the concourse to his departure gate. Passing security he waited in line for his boarding pass. "At least I will be traveling first class." he mumbled to himself. Checking his watch again, it was 5:25pm; his flight would take off in about 35 minutes. Boarding was quick and went fairly smooth. He sat in the extra wide seat in the forward cabin, buckled his seatbelt and waited. Closing his eyes he tried to rest a bit. Feeling the plane jolt forward brought him back up. Looking around, he noticed they were already off the ground. He had missed the safety instructions. He was a bit more tired than he had realized. It didn't take long for the plane to reach altitude and when it did, he got up to go and relieve himself of the two bourbons he had earlier. Accounting for the two layovers and the change of airlines in Manila, he arrived in Tianjin late the following afternoon, around 4:30pm.

After retrieving his luggage and going through Customs, he headed for the rental car agency. Signing his contract, he asked them how to get to his hotel. They marked it and the route to take on a map and wished him a nice stay while he was in China. Taking the shuttle to the rental car parking lot, he waited for them to bring him his car. "Damn it a compact!" he scowled out loud. "Couldn't they see a compact was like riding a child's peddle car to him. " Throwing his luggage with some force into the back seat, he sat in the car and found his knees almost under his chin. Reaching for the adjustment lever, he let the seat slide back all the way. Still not far enough, but a lot more comfortable than having to drive like a sardine in a tin with one too many packed in it. Grabbing the map, he headed for his hotel. At least it was almost a straight shot. With little trouble, outside of a few traffic issues, he arrived at his hotel about one and a half hours later. Tianjin was a very large and modern city he had found. Nothing like what he had thought earlier. It could compare to any modern city back in the states. Travis was impressed. Modern office complexes, housing and entertainment offered any visitor a good time and a variety of things to do. Outside of the advertisements being written in Chinese as he drove along, he would think he was still in the states. As he waited for his room keys the clerk at the counter gave him a message that had arrived for him earlier that morning. Opening it he read, "Mr. Travis, Welcome to Tianjin and to China. We are looking forward to your stay with us. Please let us know if we can be of any assistance to make your stay more enjoyable or with your directive here at the Memdec facilities. If you have any questions concerning the security at the site, please contact Lei Ming and she will be happy to assist you. Respectfully, Mark Littleman, Director of Operations, Memdec, Tianjin, China." He folded it back up and put it in his inside jacket pocket. As he turned around, he found the bellhop standing there, smile on his face, keys in his hand and saying to Travis, "This way please." and headed off to the elevators. Travis almost had to run to keep up with him.

Entering his room, Travis turned and handed the young man his tip. By the smile on his face, Travis saw that he had over tipped him. Smiling he thought, "What the hell, isn't like it is my money anyways." The young man bowed, turned and left the room. Setting his suitcase and garment bag on his bed, he started to unpack and hang shirts and suits on the garment rack. A few moments later, his phone rang, "Hello." Travis answered the phone. "Mr. Williams, this is Mark Littleman. Have you settled into your room yet?" "Almost." was his reply. "What can I do for you Mr. Littleman?" Travis asked. "Please, call me Mark." Littleman replied. "I was wondering if you had plans for tonight, and if not, I would like to show you around Tianjin a bit and get you acquainted with your new surroundings." At first Travis thought about refusing his offer, he was very tired from his flight and all he could think about was sleep at the moment. Then for some reason he said, "Sure, why not. I could use a drink and a bite to eat as it is." "Good, glad to hear that. I won't keep you out too late. Just show you how to get to the facilities and then grab a drink and a bite to eat." Mark assured him. They made plans to meet in the lobby at 8:00pm that evening. Travis continued to unpack after hanging the phone up. Jumping in the shower and shaving, he put on a clean shirt and his brown suit, finding a tie, he finished off his suit and headed down to the hotel bar. In the elevator he looked at his watch, 7:30pm, and just enough time to numb his brain a little before Littleman got there.

He had been standing in the lobby just a few minutes when a gentleman came through the revolving doors. He paused and looked around a bit, saw Travis and headed straight for him. He was dressed in a dark suit with a dark blue shirt and a red tie. "Likes to let everyone know he is in charge." Travis mused to himself. Smiling, Littleman held out his hand, "Mr. Williams?" Travis took his hand, "Please call me Travis, Mark. Mr. Williams was my father's name." "Good, this country is based on deep seated formalities; it will be nice to let that go for an evening. Now then let's go and get this evening started." Mark invited. Settling into the passenger's seat of Mark's car he noticed that he had plenty of leg room. He sighed and Mark picked up on it right away. "Yeah, I know how you feel. Seems all they have here are those subcompact cars that remind one of a roller-skate on two wheels" Mark laughed. "I bitched enough to corporate about if they did not do something about the transportation problem here, I was going to start sending them all my chiropractor's bills. Next thing I knew, they sent me this Lexus from Tokyo." Travis thought to himself, "And they couldn't have me something waiting when I got here." About 45 minutes later, Mark turned down a wide boulevard named Memdec Blvd. and it terminated at the guard shack for the Memdec entry drive. Mark rolled down his window and informed the guard, "Just showing someone from corporate around Wang." The guard asked to see Travis's company identification. Handing it to him, the guard checked it out at the terminal in the shack. Returning his badge, the guard apologized for the delay, wished them a good evening and waved them through. "Things are a lot tighter since 9\11 and Iraq." Mark said. "Even the guard's security dogs have to have a badge now." Mark noticed the enormity of the operation here. There had to be at least seven buildings, all four stories high and a quarter of a mile long, all on a well manicured campus, landscaped like a park, hosting administration, manufacturing, development, research and test facilities. "First time to see it?" Mark asked. "Impressive I know. When I first saw it, I could not believe the scope of the operations myself." he continued. "We also have dormitories on the south end of the campus that houses about 4700 employees. All have cafeterias, Laundromats, convenience stores, barbers, beauticians, bowling, theaters and internet cafes. We employ a total of 6748 employees here; work a 24/7 with compressed shifts for manufacturing, mainly products for communications, like satellites, cell phones, medical equipment and radios; very little automobile products here. That is mainly in our Philippines facilities. Any questions so far Travis?" Mark asked turning to him as he stopped the car in his reserved parking space. "No, nothing I can think of right now Mark.", Travis answered him. "You have been a fountain of information." "Would you like to get out for an impromptu tour of the site?" Mark continued. "No, I can wait for tomorrow and get a more thorough tour of the place, if you don't mind. Right now, I would like to take you up on the offer for dinner and drinks. Airline food just does not set to well with me.", Travis finished. Backing out of the space, Mark headed for the exit and to the restaurant district.

Mark had chosen a very nice restaurant for the evening dinner. He looked at his watch and Travis noticed how busy it was for 9:30 in the evening. "Late eaters here I see." Travis mentioned to Mark. "Not really, most eat at this time here. Something being from the states you are not used to." Mark informed him. "Order the Kung Pao Shrimp, very tasty and it is the chef's specialty here. You won't regret it." Mark offered Travis. They were still nursing their drinks, Mark a vodka martini and Travis with his usual bourbon, when the waiter finally came to the table. They placed their order and as the waiter turned to leave, Mark spoke something to him in Chinese which caused the waiter to hesitate for a moment before continuing back to the kitchen. "Told him you are a very generous tipper, treat him good.", Marked chuckled and winked at Travis. Travis watched the waiter out of the corner of his eye as he disappeared through a door in the back of the restaurant. Travis looked back at Mark and thought, "Now why would he inform the waiter I was a good tipper if the meal was on him?" Travis made a mental note then shook it off and waited for his meal. After finishing his second drink, the meal was placed in front of them. The rest of the evening was filled with small talk, eating and a few more drinks. Mark dropped Travis off at his hotel a little after midnight. "See you around 10:00 in the morning.", Mark said before driving off.

Travis woke around 6:45 and lay there for a moment. He felt tired and his body felt as if it was weighed down with bricks. Between the flight and the drinks, his body didn't seem to have the energy to pull himself together enough to get going. As he laid there, Travis looked around his room. It was nicely furnished and the bed was very comfortable. At least they were seeing he was comfortable, it was the least they could do sending him out on such little notice. Micro suede covered lounging chairs; mahogany and ebony wood table and dresser. Oriental framed silk screens on the wall, very nice indeed. As he was admiring his surroundings, he saw that the red message light on his phone was blinking. He picked up the receiver and dialed his room number. "Turn on your damn cell phone and answer it Travis." It was Ted and he sounded a bit upset. Travis reached for his cell phone. He had forgot to turn it back on when he landed in Tianjin. An easy thing to forget he thought. He hit the speed dial button for Ted and then the send button and waited for Ted to answer. "This is Ted." "Ted, Trav here, sorry about the phone, I forgot all about it." Travis said apologizing. "About damn time Travis, I have been waiting for you to call and they have been breathing down my neck for a status. Now what the hell is going on there?' Ted barked over the phone. "Christ Ted, calm down. I just got here yesterday, what did you expect? I haven't even been here 24 hours and you sound like you have not heard from me for weeks." Travis fired back. "24 hours of travel and you expect me to hit the ground running Ted, is that it? There isn't a big red "S" painted on my shirt here Ted, and I am not Kresgin, so don't expect me to read minds and see through walls on this." "Sorry Travis, but they are very impatient on this one and they want a few answers. Give me what you have so far." Ted said backing down on his tone some. "I met Mark Littleman when I arrived, we drove out to the Memdec facilities here and he showed me around the campus. I did not tour the facilities themselves, just got acquainted with the grounds and the buildings there. He filled me in on the general stats, press release stuff, nothing ground breaking in it. Then we went out for dinner and drinks." Travis filled Ted in. "Oh, and by the way Ted, what is the damn subcompact car I am driving all about? That thing is killing my back and legs driving it. You really should have put a little more thought into my stature before reserving me this tin can on wheels." Travis complained, mainly to throw Ted on the defensive. "I'll have Marianne work on it for you Travis. " Ted offered. "See that you do Ted." snapped Travis. "Anyway, I need to get up and moving. I have to be at the facility by 10:00 this morning and I want a shower and breakfast. I'll call you later and give you an update." "Later then Travis, and keep your eyes and ears open." Ted instructed him. Travis ended the call and rolled out of bed.

Passing the mirrored wall, Travis glimpsed his reflection. "Damn I look terrible." he was thinking to himself. Not so much in his build, but in his face. You could tell he had been working too much, drinking and keeping late hours. "Really need to exercise and get more rest." Making his way to the shower, he stood under the spray and let it rinse the trip and the previous night down the drain. The hot water felt good and he felt like he could stand there forever, the heat feeling so good on his tired muscles. Finishing up his shower, he finished getting ready and dressed. Exiting the elevator, he headed to the restaurant and ordered an American breakfast off the menu, eggs over easy, hash browns with bacon and toast. Strong black coffees for that kick start he felt he needed. As he ate, he felt the caffeine start to do its work and his mind started clearing. "I really need to formulate a plan of attack here. Something that will divert their attention as to why he was really there." he started thinking. "Inundate them with requests for reports and logs, especially transaction logs, shipping logs, visitor logs and inventory audits. That should keep their eyes buried in file cabinets and monitors and might let him go about unnoticed."

Finishing his breakfast, he started across the lobby, near the entrance stood a man dressed in a white jacket, black slacks and white cap, holding a placard that read, "Travis Williams" on it. Shaking his head, he walked over to the man and introduced himself. "I am Travis Williams." he informed the man. "Ahh, very good." the man said to Travis. "Mr. Littleman has sent me to drive you to Memdec. Please follow me if you will sir." Travis followed him to the waiting car. As the door was held open for him, he slipped the doorman a tip. Once on their way, the man looked in the rearview mirror and said "You really shouldn't be tipping everyone like that. If they see you have money, they will inform others of the same thing and soon you will find yourself relieved of it and left stranded someplace. And there are parts of Tianjin you do not want to be left alone in, being an American. You would stand out like a weed in a vegetable patch and treated as such Mr. Williams." "Thank you for that information, but I think I can handle myself." Travis responded. "As you wish Mr. Williams." the driver replied in turn, and then looked forward keeping his silence until they arrived. "We are arriving sir, please have your badge ready for the guard." the driver requested of Travis. Showing the guard the badge, he nodded and waved them on through.

Entering the building, there was a young lady waiting there for him. "Mr. Williams?" she asked as he entered. "Please, call me Travis, Miss." he requested of her. "Oh no sir. That will not do. It is impolite to address one in such a familiar way considering your status with the company and I would lose my position here for being so forward." she told him. "I have never been much on formalities and protocol and I would feel much more comfortable and at ease if you would honor my request in that respect." he requested of her. "I am so sorry Mr. Williams, but I cannot do that. My name is Song Lei and I will be your assistant and liaison while you are here. Please follow me, if you will." Lei asked Travis. "I really do not need an assistant while I am here Ms. Song. I work well alone and I get much accomplished when left to my own means. I appreciate the offer of your services, but if you will just show me to Mr. Littleman's office, I can take it from there." Travis told Lei. You would have thought he had just had her dismissed from her job. She bowed her head and without looking at him said, "I am very sorry if I have insulted you Mr. Williams, I did not mean to. I was doing nothing more than following my instructions from my supervisor. Please understand." Travis stood there for a moment, quiet, feeling remorse in the words he had chosen. "Maybe there is something you can do for me. Can you get me a list of the personnel that work the Loss Prevention department here? Also, I will need to see the inventory audits for the past six months. Then bring to me, where ever they find a place to park me." She looked at Travis a little confused, "Park you sir? You will be working from your car while you are here?" Travis laughed, "No, no, I should have made myself a bit clearer on that. It is an American term for where they decide to give me space to do my work while I am here." Laughing still, he looked at Song Lei and smiled. Looking up at Travis, Lie smiled back and giggled, "I am sure I can find a very comfortable parking place for you here." She then led him to Mark Littleman's office.

Standing at Mark's secretary's desk, he informed her who he was and that Mr. Littleman was expecting him. She called in to Mark and let him know Travis was there, then showed him into Mark's office. "Mr. Littleman, Mr. Williams to see you sir." his secretary announced as they entered the office. Mark stood up as Travis entered his office and offered his hand again. "I hope you had a comfortable night Travis. I know how hard it can be the first few nights traveling from one side of the world to the other." "I slept very good, thank you." Travis returned the formality. "Good, glad to hear." Mark said. "Now Travis, how might me or my staff assist you in your endeavors here?" Travis looked past Mark and out the window, "Just give me a space I can work at. Something with a modicum of privacy and a place there too for the assistant you have been so generous in supplying me with. I will also need a network connection and access to you database with a high level of clearance. Something on the line of the db admin will work." Mark looked blankly at Travis, "I don't think that will be possible Mr. Williams. Asking for access like that would require you to have a security clearance higher than mine and I just do not see that happening at all. That would be a breach of company protocol and directives." Adjusting his tie, Mark sits down behind his desk, avoiding looking at Travis. Travis walks over to his desk, bending, he places both hands flat on Mark's desk coming down hard to get his attention. "Yes, Mr. Littleman, I see it happening and I see it happening very quickly, or I will place one phone call back to Dallas and make more than my request to you happen. Are we on the same page here Mr. Littleman? Or do I have to make my point a little bit clearer?" Travis said sternly while reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out his cell phone. Mark, looking up at Travis said, "If this is nothing more than an audit of Loss Prevention and our security system here, why would you need such a high level of access?" Travis, shaking his head looked back down at him, glaring this time, "You know, if they would have wanted you to know anymore than you do now, they would have told you. But it is apparent that you do not need to know, all you need to do is to fill my request so I can do my job and be done with it. Now, will you see that by the time I get to my space that I have the access that I have requested granted? If I do not, all it will take is one phone call over your head to get it done." Mark, looking to one side to avoid Travis' glare said " I will take care of it myself Mr. WIlliams" Travis spun around in a 180 and started walking to the door, "See that you do Mr. Littleman, see that you do." Mark, thoroughly humiliated by now, but more concerned as to how deep Travis would probe in his audit started granting him the access he had requested. He then picked up his phone and asked his secretary to get him the Dallas office right away.

I have Dallas on the phone for you Mr. Littleman. "Mr. Dunbar?" "Yes Mark, what can I do for you?" Stephen Dunbar asked Mark. "I know it is late there sir and I apologize for disturbing you, but I have something I need to discuss with you right now that is very urgent." Hearing Stephen's sigh, "What is it this time Mark?" "There is a Travis Williams here requesting deep access into the databases, all the databases sir. Said he was here to audit the security and Loss Prevention department here. I really don't feel comfortable with granting that type of access to a Loss Prevention Investigator. Not even one of our own sir. There is a lot of sensitive material stored on those databases. Some of it, even I do not have access to, who is going to take responsibility if something happens to any of the information there sir?" Mark asked. "Mark, what is it exactly you are asking of me?" Stephen started out, "What do you want to hear from me? Is there something that you need to hide, something that you have failed to mention to me that he should not find?" "Oh no sir, it is nothing like that, I assure you. I was just thinking of the company and protecting it's assets." Mark defended himself saying, "All I want is some type of clarification as to Mr. Williams' level of security clearance and access to all the information on the system. How deep do you want me to allow him access." "Mark, let me put it to you this way. If you are so concerned about protecting the company and it's assets, I would think you would welcome Mr. Travis and facilitate his request with the utmost diligence and speed. That he is there for a reason and if you had needed to know anymore than that, I am sure someone here would have informed you. But as for right now, I suggest you grant him what he is asking for and stay out of his way Mark. Do not hinder him in his assignment." Stephen Dunbar hung up the phone and left Mark holding his receiver in his hand.

Song Lie met Travis out in the hallway. "Mr. Williams, I have found you a very nice parking space, I think you will find it very comfortable and quiet, very conducive to working." "Why thank you Miss Song. I appreciate it very much. Please show me and then get those logs and reports I requested earlier." Mark said to her. "It is done already sir." Lei replied smiling up at him. Travis smiled back and thought to himself, "Very efficient young lady, maybe she can be of help to me." Entering the office Lei had chosen for him, Travis was very impressed. It was a corner office with a view of the gardens outside. It had windows from floor to ceiling on the two outside walls that traversed the entire length. A large rosewood desk and an overstuffed leather high backed desk chair. To one side was a smaller desk of teak and a small wooden desk chair behind it. One wall had a bank of shelves while the fourth had a built in credenza. All the surfaces were paneled and it had very lush thick carpet on the floors. On the wall by the credenza was a door that led to a private bathroom complete with a shower and a small clothes closet. "This will do very nicely Miss Song, very nicely indeed." Travis said smiling. "If you had done nothing else outside of finding me a parking space I would have to say you out did yourself on this." Lei smiling and a bit red from Travis's accolades said, "I am happy to see that it pleases you sir. I was hoping you would find it to your liking. I took the liberty of having a small desk put in here for myself. If you do not like, I can have it removed and sit in the cubes outside." "You stay right were you put it. That way, if and when I need you, I won't have to go looking for you. You thought right on that one Miss Song." Mark said winking at her. Lei smiled again, "Thank you Travis." "Whoa there, what happened to protocol and being respectful Miss Song?”, Travis laughed. "I think since we will be working so close together, when we are away from prying ears, it will be okay to use our given names, don't you think?" Lei inquired of Travis. "Yes Lei, I think it will be okay. Now let's start to work." Travis continued. "I want you to take the personnel rosters for the Loss Prevention department and list them in descending order as to their employment dates. If they are six months and under, I want their complete file along with pre-employment screenings. Then I want the inventory for the last six months broken down by device number and who it was shipped to along with quantities shipped. I want the inventory on scrapped devices and how they were disposed of." "Yes Travis, I will get right on it." Lei assured him. "I have no doubt that you will Lei. I am going to go and get my self acquainted now with my surroundings. I should be back in a couple of hours, then you can show me where the cafeteria is and we will have lunch." Travis informed Lei.

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